Hotels near Tama Lakes Track

The Tama Lakes Track is 17 km return from Whakapapa Village, takes 5 to 6 hours, and climbs about 340 m to the Tama Saddle, or closer to 500 m if you add the Upper Tama Lake lookout. DOC grades the main track intermediate. The payoff is geological rather than scenic in the ordinary sense: the Tama Lakes fill explosion craters blasted out roughly 10,000 years ago during a violent eruptive period, and they sit in the saddle between Mount Ngauruhoe to the north and Mount Ruapehu to the south, so on a clear day both cones frame the same view. Lower Tama Lake is seen from the saddle itself. The Upper Tama Lake lookout is a different proposition - 1.4 km and about 35 minutes one way on an unformed advanced tramping route over loose, slippery rock that is considerably harder than anything on the main track.

No formed track descends to either lake, and DOC asks visitors not to enter or touch the water, partly to keep these alpine lakes weed-free and partly because they are tapu. The Tama Saddle funnels the prevailing westerlies, so a windproof shell is not optional even on a warm February afternoon. Practically, this is the easiest of the serious volcanic walks to organise: no booking, no fee, no shuttle, and free parking at Whakapapa Village. The first 15 minutes share tread with the Taranaki Falls Walking Track, a 6 km, 2-hour easy loop to a 20 m waterfall that drops over an andesite lava flow erupted from Mount Ruapehu around 15,000 years ago - a sound bail-out if the saddle is socked in by the time you reach the junction.

Pro Tip: Start at the trailhead 100 m below the Tongariro National Park Visitor Centre on Ngauruhoe Place and take the Taranaki Falls section on the way out rather than the way back. You reach the falls inside 40 minutes, so the day still delivers something worth driving for even if you bail at the Tama Saddle.